


In loco Parentis

by loisselina (LoisSelina)



Series: Famiglia [2]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Father Figures, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Haleys alive and Hotchs dad is an asshole verse, Hotch needs a hug, Rossi has known him since he was a young kid, Rossi is Hotch's dad, Rossi is Hotch's surrogate father, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:21:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25124599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoisSelina/pseuds/loisselina
Summary: When Rossi is the first one at Aaron's side after an unforeseen accident the team break their rule about profiling each other.
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner & David Rossi
Series: Famiglia [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1819993
Comments: 6
Kudos: 78





	In loco Parentis

**Author's Note:**

> this is just a super short fic because i've been reading dad rossi fics all night instead of sleeping.

They had both a very official rule about profiling and a unofficial rule about not profiling other member of the team, but with three out of five profilers on the team stuck in a waiting room, not to mention a communications liaison and a technical analyst (who had spent so much time around the other five that they might as well be profilers too) the profilers couldn’t help but ignore the rule. Normally they would have tried harder to avoid profiling, but the members of the team all got a phone call from Rossi, or rather he told Garcia and asked her to spread the news knowing she would have even if he hadn’t asked, to tell them that Hotch had been in a car accident. 

“Did it come up on your system?” Prentiss asked Garcia, like the rest of their waiting friends they were cradling cups of coffee, like the rest of the team they had dropped what they were doing and rushed to sit on the hard plastic waiting room chairs waiting for Rossi and Hotch to emerge from Hotch’s room. 

Garcia looked as though she was dumb. She shook her head when she realised that Emily had spoken to her. “No. I just got the call from Rossi. Oh gosh if he hadn’t have called none of us would have known, we wouldn’t be here, I wouldn’t have known, I was only-”

“ _ Baby girl _ ” Derek cut her off wrapping one arm around her and pulling her into a half hug. 

“You know Hotch’s file has loads of recommendations from Rossi, before and after Rossi came out of retirement.” 

JJ grimaced ever so slightly before saying the words which everyone was thinking. “Pen… do any of us want to know how you know that?”

“Technically, there’s only a rule about profiling, and I  _ only _ looked it up because Rossi was new to the team and I had to make sure he would be okay with you all.”

Emily couldn’t help but let out a small laugh, despite herself. “PG, we promise not to tell Hotch or Rossi.” The others nodded in agreement. Emily bit her lip before giving in to her urge. “But how did Rossi get here first?”

“That’s what I was trying to tell you,” Penelope’s eyes lit up as she remembered the point to her initial rambling. “Rossi is Hotch’s emergency contact.”

“What?!” Morgan sat forward in surprise. 

“Because Haley left?” JJ’s brow furrowed as she tried to figure it out.

Garcia shook her head. “No, it hadn’t been changed in years.”

Reid who had been uncharacteristically quiet finally spoke. “You know Hotch is my emergency contact, I don’t have any family who could do it.” He ignored the looks his friends shared with each other. “Maybe Hotch is the same. Maybe he didn’t want Mrs Hotchner to be the one to be his, before they broke up I mean. Hotch has classic alpha behaviour, he’s a protector, if he was injured he probably wouldn’t want Mrs Hotchner alone, but he knows we would tell her but she wouldn’t have to be alone.”

“Then why Rossi?” Emily asked, she asked it in the way she did when they discussed cases, not for her own edification but to allow them to expand on their points and explain it to themselves too.

“Rossi’s been around for a long time, he probably knew Hotch when Hotch first joined the BAU, maybe even before,” Morgan answered, “and if there’s anyone Hotch trusts to act in his best interests it’s Rossi.”

“He gets Hotch to smile, even to tease him,” JJ added. 

“Paternal?” Reid summed up but his voice was questioning. 

* * *

  
  


In the hospital room Aaron Hotchner woke up with a groan, he felt like he had been hit by a car, which made a lot of sense, he supposed, remembering that he had in fact been hit by a car. 

“Do you have a death wish?”

Hotch turned to Rossi, the look on his face certainly gave him one, in face he was wishing he was still asleep. 

“Or are you trying to give me a heart attack? I’m serious kid, what do you think you were doing?”

Aaron had to think for a moment. “A guy robbed a bodega, I was just getting some food,” part of him wanted to tell Rossi he had been buying boxed mac and cheese just so he could be in trouble for that instead, “saw him, I pursued.”

“In a  _ car _ , where you were so intent on chasing after someone stealing fifty dollars that you crashed into another car.” Rossi had his eyes narrowed on the man who had become his son over the years. One of Hotch’s greatest strengths was his unshakeable moral compass however it was also one of his weaknesses too. Rossi let out a sigh and saw that Hotch’s mask he used in work was not on, instead he was looking slightly more like a kicked puppy. He let out a grumble about “damn kids these days” under his breath as he stood up to pass Hotch a glass of water.    
“Tell me that this is going to make you think twice about chasing after someone who committed petty theft at best?”

Hotch pulled a small grimace. “You want me to lie to you?” He followed his question with a hopeful and slightly jokey smile. 

Rossi sighed again. “I am going to go grey and it’s your fault entirely.” He couldn’t help but smile when Hotch let out a laugh. “I’m serious, Aaron, how am I supposed to find the next Mrs Rossi if I’m looking like a grandfather?” 

“I’m sure you’ll do fine Dave.” Hotch said through a laugh. He winced in pain and sipped his water slowly.

“Fine, but you’re going to have to be my wingman.” 

Hotch winced again but this time it was at the idea of that rather than any pain. “Please don’t make me, it’s just…  _ disturbing _ .”

Rossi rolled his eyes but ruffled Aaron’s hair. “The rest of the team’s here, you ready to see them?” 

“They’re all here?” 

Rossi looked down at Aaron with a small frown. “You think I could have stopped them, even if I wanted to?” 

A ghost of a smile flickered onto Hotch’s face, before a frown appeared. “Do they know why you were here first?” 

“Do they know that I’m your emergency contact?” He watched Aaron nod his head once. “Kid, showing your more human side isn’t going to make any of the respect you any less. Anyway I’m sure by now they’ve figured out that you’ve been a thorn in my side since I met you, and that’s not going to change any time soon.”

Hotch couldn’t help but smile. “I’m not that bad.” He protested more out of habit than anything else. 

Rossi raised one eyebrow. “Oh really? What hospital visit number is this again?” He watched Hotch’s cheeks flush. Maybe a little healthy embarrassment would stop him from ending up in hospital so soon. “I’ll go grab the team, before they use their badges to break into here.”    
He made it all the way to the door before hesitating and turning back to face Aaron in the hospital bed. He was fidgeting with the bed covers, so different from his normal statue like nerves, when he was like this he was so much more like the nervous new FBI recruit, so angry and nervous, desperate to prove himself. “Hey kid.”

Hotch’s head snapped up, his voice soft from the moniker Rossi was careful not to overuse, especially in front of others. “Dave?”

“I’m serious. Stop ending up in a hospital bed, you’re going to give me a heart attack.”

A small smile flickered onto Hotch’s face. “Sorry?”

Rossi rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll believe it when I see it, punk.”


End file.
